ivas forms what may
be called the spectator's part, in front of the ladder as one
descends, and the same feature is common to many older Hopi
dwellings.[15]

Beginning with the lateral platforms (_B_, figure 245) we first note,
as we step upon it at _c_, about midway of its length, a small
circular depression in the floor of the central room extending
slightly beneath the platform, as indicated by the dotted line. It is
possible that this niche was a receptacle for important household
objects, although it may have been a fireplace.

In a corner of the right platform a round cist, partially hewn out of
the rock, was found, but its walls (_a_, figure 245) were badly broken
down by some former explorer. The floor of this recess lies below that
of the platform, while the cist itself (_D_) reminds one of the closed
or walled structures, so commonly found in the Verde, attached to the
side of the cliff. On the lateral wall of this chamber, at about the
height of the head, a row of small holes had been drilled into the
solid wall. These holes (_d_, _d_, _d_) are almost too small for the
insertion of roof beams, and were probably made for pegs on which to
rest a beam for hanging blankets and other textile fabrics when not in
use. The roof of the cave was the natural rock, and showed over its
whole surface marks of a pecking implement.

The left chamber is 6 feet 6 inches broad, and from one corner,
opposite the doorway, a low passageway leads into a circular chamber,
6 feet in diameter, with its floor below the platform of the lateral
room. Between the chamber, on the left of the entrance, and the open
air, the wall of solid rock is broken by a slit-like crevice, which
allows the light to enter, and no doubt served as a window. A recess,
the floor of which is elevated, on a platform opposite the doorway, is
5 feet broad, and has a small circular depression in one corner. The
floor and upraise of this recess is plastered with adobe, which in
several places is smooth and well made.

In comparing the remaining cavate dwellings of this series with that
described, we find every degree of complication in the arrangement of
rooms, from a simple cave, or irregular hole in the side of the cliff,
to squared chambers with lateral rooms. The room _I_,[16] for
instance, is rectangular, 6 feet long by 3 feet wide, with an entrance
the same width as that of the room itself.

In room _III_, however, the external opening is very small, an